Changing Faces of Kiwi Christianity: New Testament Perspectives on Current and Future Intercultural Challenges Dr George Wieland, Carey Baptist College and Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School, Auckland, New Zealand Abstract The face of Christianity in New Zealand is changing. Already diverse, its demographic profile has shifted again in recent years as the acceleration of immigration from various Asian source countries has added significant numbers of Asian Christians who worship, engage in mission and develop vital Christian communities. While these may be linked through effective transnational networks with the vigorous expressions of Christianity in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Korea and elsewhere, many Asian Christian groups have been disappointed in the degree to which they have experienced community with the more established New Zealand Christian churches. For their part, traditional Kiwi congregations may be largely unaware of the extent of the presence of Asian Christians in New Zealand, or are uncertain how or even whether to relate to those Christian neighbours. The New Testament comprises a series of documents reflecting the experience of faith communities in cross-cultural encounter and intercultural engagement. Through an exploration of selected parts of the New Testament where this encounter and engagement is foregrounded resources may be sought for the Christian community in addressing such aspects of its current reality. A nation of migrants Since Maori navigators arrived some centuries ago,1 New Zealand has been a destination for migrant populations. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the source was predominantly Britain and other European countries,2 joined from the 1960s by growing numbers from the Pacific Islands. New Zealand had had a small Chinese population since the mid nineteenth century, but in 1987, following a significant change in its immigration policy, the acceleration of immigration from Asian countries, particularly China and India, began. In the twenty years from 1986 and 2006, New Zealand’s resident population that had been born in Asia increased from 32,685 to 248,364, and the population that identified as Asian increased by 550 percent.3 1 The most recent evaluation of the evidence suggests a date of around the fourteenth century. K.R. Howe, The Quest for Origins: Who First Discovered and Settled New Zealand and the Pacific Islands? (Auckland: Penguin, 2003), 70. 2 Ward Friesen, Asians in Dunedin: Not a New Story, (Wellington: Asia New Zealand Foundation, 2009) (1 November, 2009); James Ng, ‘The Sojourner Experience: The Cantonese Gold-seekers in New Zealand, 1865-1901’ in, Unfolding History, Evolving Identity: The Chinese in New Zealand, ed. Manying Ip, (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2003), 5-30 3 Richard Bedford and Elsie Ho, Asians in New Zealand: Implications of a Changing Democracy (Wellington: Asia New Zealand Foundation, 2008). For sourcing and interpreting the demographic data I am indebted to Dr Andrew Butcher, Research Director of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. Wieland: Kiwi Christianity It is projected that by 2026, New Zealand’s Pacific population will have increase from its 2006 level by around 60 percent, the Maori population by 31 percent, the European or Other population by 7 percent and the Asian population by 95 percent to 16 percent of New Zealand’s total population.4 Earlier this year China overtook Britain as largest source country of migrants to New Zealand. This demographic shift has proved challenging for New Zealand’s majority Anglo- Celtic population. Asian, especially Chinese, migrants have endured a long history of discrimination.5 Social surveys reveal a disquiet about New Zealand’s immigrant Asian populations,6 and from within some sectors of New Zealand’s Christian community concerns are expressed about a perceived threat to what they want to regard as New Zealand’s Christian identity.7 Some New Zealand churches are responding more positively. There are churches that play a very significant role in the pastoral care of international students in New Zealand.8 Some have developed significant ministries to particular migrant populations.9 The Overseas Missionary Fellowship in New Zealand has a ministry to Chinese and Japanese diasporas; the Tertiary Students’ Christian Fellowship has large ministry to 4 Bedford and Ho, Asians in New Zealand. 5 See Nigel Murphy, ‘Joe Lum v. The Attorney General: The Politics of Exclusion’ in Unfolding History, Evolving Identity: The Chinese in New Zealand, ed. Manying Ip. (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2003), 48-68; Brian Moloughney and John Stenhouse, '"Drug-besotten, sin-begotten fiends of filth": New Zealand and the Oriental Other', New Zealand Journal of History, 33, 1, (1999): 43-64. 6 For discussion on these social surveys and public attitudes, see Andrew Butcher, ‘Well, they’re very good citizens: New Zealand’s Perceptions of Asians in New Zealand’ in Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Social Issues – Special Issue: Asia and Aotearoa in New Zealand, ed. J. Leckie, 5, 2, (2008):5-30; Paul Spoonley, Philip Gendall and Andrew Trlin, Welcome to our World: The Attitudes of New Zealanders to Immigrants and Immigration, New Settlers Programme Occasional Publication No.14, (Palmerston North: New Settlers Programme, Massey University, 2007). For discussion on the relationship between media in New Zealand and attitudes to immigrants and immigration, see Paul Spoonley and Andrew Butcher, ‘Reporting superdiversity: The mass media and immigration in New Zealand’, Journal of Intercultural Studies, 30, 4, (2009): 355-372 7 For an example of one Christian response, see Simon Collins, ‘Denying state religion like treason, says Brian Tamaki’, New Zealand Herald, February 17, 2007 (1 November, 2009) . For a summary by Professor Morris of all responses see (1 November, 2009) 8 Andrew Butcher, Lian-Hong Lim, Terry McGrath, and Lorna Revis, Nga Tangata: Partnership in Providing Services to International Students. (Auckland, Asia Pacific Migration Research Network, 2002); Terry McGrath and Andrew Butcher, Campus-Community Linkages in the Pastoral Care of International Students with specific reference to Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch, (Wellington: Ministry of Education and Education New Zealand, 2004). 9 E.g. the “global congregation” of the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle church. (1 November, 2009) Wieland: Kiwi Christianity international students at universities,10 while International Student Ministries provides pastoral care to international students, works closely with education providers, particularly through university chaplaincies, and gives input into government research and policy.11 The changing face of Kiwi Christianity For all this it has escaped the notice even of many members of New Zealand’s churches that among recent arrivals from Asian countries are thousands of Christians. A disproportionate number of Korean migrants in New Zealand (compared to the population of Korea generally) are Christian,12 and around one hundred Korean churches and congregations have taken their place along with a similar number of Chinese churches in Auckland, whose population is markedly more ethnically and culturally diverse than that of New Zealand generally. Significantly, Census data show that whereas the years 2001-2006 saw an overall decline in the number of people in New Zealand describing themselves as Christian, the number of Asians who identified themselves as Christian grew from 66,390 in 2001 to 97,809 in 2006.13 This represents a growth from 3.2% of total Christians in 2001 to 4.8% in 2006.14 The face of Kiwi Christianity is changing. Into the mix of its already diverse character, with its varieties of Maori Christian practice, its bi-cultural foundations, its denominations of European settler origin, its strong Pacific elements, and the more recent transnational megachurch networks, there is now a range of Asian Christian expressions. While ethnically and culturally diverse all these Christian communities consider themselves to be in continuity with the first Christian believers whose life and faith as 10 (1 November, 2009) 11 (1 November, 2009) 12 Friesen, Diverse Auckland, 2009 13 Tables on culture and identity from the 2006 Census, (1 November, 2009) 14 Tables on culture and identity from the 2001 Census, (1 November, 2009) Wieland: Kiwi Christianity witnessed to by the New Testament documents is part of our common story. Are there resources in those shared origins for the Christian community in New Zealand today? A narrative of Spirit-impelled boundary crossing The Book of Acts is a narrative that foregrounds the work of the Spirit in impelling Jesus’ followers out from the defensive huddle of the upper room into a miracle of communication with cultural foreigners. (Acts 2:5-11). Issues arise out of the coming together of people from different social, cultural, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds, and are dealt with by receiving members of the “outsider” community into the leadership group (Acts 6:1-6). Thus affirmed and empowered, the “outsider” group steps up and takes the lead in courageous, costly and innovative mission (Acts 7-8). It is costly also for the more established community and its leaders to follow the prompting of the Spirit, but as they step into that liminal space on the edges of their experience and understanding they discover the Spirit already there and their horizons grow (Acts 8:14-25; 10:1-48; 11:2226). When the Gospel reaches beyond the Jewish world, the church wrestles with challenging issues, and resolves not to make ethnicity an obstacle to membership of the community of faith, but, like Israel in the Old Testament, requests some accommodation on the part of the incomers to enable shared life to be realised within one community (Acts 15:19-20, 28-29). Soon, the believers in Jesus are themselves a diaspora, scattered by religious persecution (Acts 8:1-3; 11:19), living as “aliens and exiles” (cf. 1 Pet 1:1-2; 2:11). But in their scattering they continue to be impelled across barriers of difference, with bicultural people proving especially attuned to those beyond the boundaries of the now established community (Acts 11:20). Intercultural partnership is a characteristic of effective ministry (Acts 13:1-3) and mission (Acts 20:4). Wieland: Kiwi Christianity An appeal for Christ-honouring other-receiving In the first Christian generation Paul the apostle wrote to Christian believers in the multi- ethnic city of Rome. From the greetings that accompany his letter it seems that he envisaged not one large congregation but several groups of believers, probably meeting in homes.15 Prisca and Aquila had experienced circular migration, forced to move from Rome to Greece when the emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from the capital (Acts 18:1-4), and travelling with Paul to Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19, 24-26), before evidently returning to Rome (Rom 16:3-5). Epaenetus had moved to Rome from Asia (Rom 16:5). A woman named Persis (“Persian woman”) is mentioned (Rom 16:12). If Rufus (Rom 16:13) is to be identified with the Rufus mentioned by Mark as a son of Simon who was compelled to carry Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21), it gives us a glimpse of a family whose migration had taken them from Cyrene in North Africa to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Study of other names in the list suggests considerable diversity in ethnicity and socio-economic status, as well as indicating that both women and men were valued as participants in the ministry and mission of the church.16 It is clear from Romans ch. 14 that this mixed set of people did not experience unity. They were divided over diet and aspects of their religious practice, matters that had at least as much to do with assumptions brought from their cultural backgrounds as with theological conviction derived from their understanding of Christian faith. Difference, mutual suspicion and criticism impeded the realisation of genuine community. Paul’s approach to this situation is missiological. Most of the letter to the Romans is an exposition of the gospel, which is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16) This salvation is from God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit, and is for Jew and Gentile alike on the same basis, that 15 The church in the home of Prisca and Aquila is mentioned (Rom 16:5a). Other house-churches may be in view in the lists of named individuals in 16:14 and 15, along with general greetings to “the brothers and sisters with them” (v. 14) and “all the saints with them” (v. 15). Possibly other groups may be detected in connection with Aristobulus (v. 10) and Narcissus (v. 11). 16 A classic study is that of Peter Lampe, “The Romans Christians of Romans 16”, pp. 216-30 in Karl P. Donfried (ed.), The Romans Debate (Rev. ed.; Peabody: Hendrickson, 1991). For a recent thorough discussion of the social setting of the Christian communities in Rome see Robert Jewett, Romans (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress, 2007), 46-74. Wieland: Kiwi Christianity of faith. The culmination of Paul’s argument might at first sight seem unremarkable, but in the context of a diverse and even divided Christian community it is both profound and urgent: “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Rom 15:7) Attainment of the goal, “that the nations should glorify God for his mercy” (Rom 15:9, and in the chain of OT citations in vv. 9-12), is understood by Paul to be the fulfilment of God’s purpose, expressed in the ancient promises to the patriarchs of Israel, and the outcome of Christ’s work (Rom 15:8). He appeals to the various groups of Christian believers in Rome to refocus on this grand vision and participate eagerly in its realisation. They will do so as they receive one another as members together of Christ’s family (Rom 14:1; 15:7), and as out of their shared life in Christ flows united worship (Rom 15:5-6). This will require clarity about the central convictions of their faith (Rom 14:17) and a determination not to allow cultural and behavioural differences to impede genuine relating (Rom 14:1-15:4). It will take effort and intentionality to “pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding” (Rom 14:19). Paul does not stop there. Not only does he envisage the realising of Christian community among the ethnically and culturally diverse peoples of Rome but he looks beyond to the regions and peoples yet to be included in “the offering of the nations . . . sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:16). His hope is that the united worshipping community in the city of Rome will share his desire for the good news to be proclaimed across the world and will become partners with him in his planned mission to the West (Rom 15:22-29). An invitation to know one another A similar challenge confronts the ethnically and culturally diverse Christian groups in today’s cities, including those of New Zealand. What must be done for authentic community to be realised across the boundaries of difference in language, style and practice? How might effective partnership be cultivated for the service of God and our world both in New Zealand and in our increasingly networked and transnational global Wieland: Kiwi Christianity community? A good starting point might be where Paul finishes in this letter to the Romans. As we have noted, Romans chapter 16 opens a window on the great diversity of the people who comprised the young Christian movement. What is remarkable is that these people, despite their ethnic, cultural and social differences, are known to Paul and to each other, and are valued as sharers together in the service and mission of Christ. Perhaps a practical and necessary first step towards the realisation of shared life and partnership in mission in our multi-ethnic cities and in a world shaped increasingly by migration is for Christian believers simply to get to know one another. As Paul recognized, that is itself a challenge that exposes priorities that need to be realigned and prejudices that must be overcome, but for that very reason it is a participation in the power of the gospel and a demonstration of God’s saving purpose for the world.